The Government has today announced increased oversight of the enforcement industry. Learn about Christians Against Poverty’s response to this announcement, and what more we are calling for to ensure the most vulnerable in our society can be fully protected.
What’s changing and how will it help people in unmanageable debt?
The Government has announced a crackdown on rogue enforcement agents. It’s bringing in tougher regulation to better protect people facing debt in England and Wales through increased oversight of the enforcement industry.
Private enforcement agents, also known as bailiffs, will be held to consistent professional standards and those facing enforcement action will have access to an independent complaints process — strengthening the rights of many of CAP’s clients who are facing vulnerable situations.
The Government says that this regulation aims to help families who are at times pressured into repayments that leave them unable to afford essentials of day-to-day life as they continue to repay what they owe.
What do CAP think about this?
CAP’s Chief Executive Officer, Stewart McCulloch says:
“For many years we have been calling for more regulation of enforcement agents to protect people in seriously vulnerable situations.
“At CAP we work very closely with the enforcement sector in order to make sure those in debt have the best possible support when facing enforcement action. We have seen many improvements in the sector in recent years but there have remained steps that need to be taken to root out bad practice and ensure people in need are treated fairly and with dignity.
“Enforcement agents knocking at anyone’s door can cause anxiety and fear even when the agents are professional, fair and do their jobs well. So when rogue agents treat vulnerable people with hostility, pressure and aggression, it can have severe implications on the person’s wellbeing and feed into a mistrust of the enforcement sector.
“This is a big moment, and we’re pleased to see regulations introduced. But it’s not yet the full regulation of the enforcement sector which will end bad debt collector practices once and for all. We welcome regulation to strengthen the good practice in the enforcement sector and truly protect the most vulnerable in our society.”
What is CAP calling for?
The Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), which CAP has been involved with from the start, is an independent body that oversees the industry.
This news means it will be able to better regulate private enforcement firms, however this doesn’t include in-house Local Authority enforcement teams or County Court enforcement. We would like to see national and local government collection practices applying the same high standards that the private sector is increasingly adopting.
The ECB currently isn’t a statutory regulator. Although significant improvements have been made to the industry since its introduction, this means it hasn’t yet got the powers it needs to fully protect vulnerable people from aggressive and unprofessional enforcement action from rogue agents.
CAP is calling for the Government to make the ECB a regulator and give it the powers and support required to ensure the most vulnerable in our society can be fully protected from poor enforcement practices.
